Apparatus for automatically orientating bodies of ovoid shape



Oct. 6, 1959 A. CAMARASA MONJE 2, 07,44

APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY ORIENTATING BODIES OF OVOID SHAPE Filed Dec. 10, 1956 INVENTOR' ANT ONIO CAMARA SA MONJE ATTORNEY United States Patent APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY ORIEN- TATING BODIES OF OVOID SHAPE Antonio Camarasa Monje, Madrid, Spain, assignor to Filipe Corchero Jimiuez, Madrid, Spain This invention relates to apparatus for automatically orientating bodies particularly of substantially ovoid shape to so dispose them that their longitudinal or major axes will be vertical as is required in various arts for diflierent purposes and to facilitate certain operations.

One irnporant object is to provide such an apparatus having a rotatable receptacle which receives the body and operates in coaction with a fixed abutment engageable by the side of the so received body to retard its rotation with the receptacle and thus orientate the body and in combination with a vertically movable cap disposed above and aligned with the receptacle to engage the oriented body at the Zone of the body opposite to that engaged by the receptacle.

It is also an aim to produce a novel structure to mount the essential parts for precise and expeditious operation.

Various additional objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the description following taken in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating one operative embodiment by way of example.

In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view of the apparatus mainly in front elevation but partly in section to disclose details;

Fig. 2 is a central vertical detail sectional view through the receptacle, abutment, cap and associated parts;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail view primarily showing the receptacle and abutment in plan, and

Fig. 4 is an inverted plan view of the cap and carrier.

Referring specifically to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts in the difierent views, 1 designates a rotatable receptacle which has fastened thereto an inner race 11 of a ball-.

bearing completed by an outer race 12 and interposed balls 2. This bearing is mounted as by the outer race 12 in a recess of a support such as a plate 13. Fastened to and rising from plate 13 is a bracket 14 having a hearing 1'5 at its upper end in which a drive-shaft 16, rotated by any suitable means, is journalled. Shaft 16 has -a bevel gear .17 thereon enmeshed with a bevel gear 18 of a vertical shaft 19 on the lower extremity of which is a fixed hub 19 rotatably journalled in a suitable ball bearing device 20 mounted in a recess of the support or plate 13. Beneath said support 13 a gear wheel 21 is fastened to hub 19' and shaft 19 which is enmeshed with a gear wheel 22 in the form of a ring concentric with and fastened to receptacle ll so, that the receptacle will be rotated through the rotation of said drive shaft 16.

Centrally in the upper surface of receptacle 1 is a cavity having a hemispherical wall 1' to receive the ovoid body such as O for orientation. Above receptacle 1 is an abutment plate 4 which is shown as a cantilever rigidly secured in any suitable way as by bolt means 4 to support 13. The inner end of said abutment plate 4 at 4 is concave on an arc concentric with the axis of rotation of the receptacle 1.

A horizontal bearing arm 8 is carried by bracket 14 2,907,442 Pat ented Oct 6, 1959 Ice and it mounts a vertically slidable primarily cylindrical carrier 7 for acap '5 all arranged above and in alignment with the receptcle il. Said carrier 7 is provided with a ferrule 6 which is suitably detachable therefrom and which mounts the said cap 5 for limited vertical movement under slight pressure in the space thereof against the ten-' sion of a confined expansion spring 6'. It will be noted that the cap is retained against displacement from the ferrule by an underlapping flange '6 and that the open space of the cap has an approximately hemispherical. wall 5'.

A head 23 is suitably connected to the carrier 7 and an: expansive coil spring 10' surrounding said carrier abuts the bearing arm 8 and head 23 and urges the cap carrier 7 upwardly so as to maintain cont-act with the peripheral surfaceof a cam 9 fastened on the drive shaft 16. It' will be noted that the receptacle 1 and cap 5 and carrier 7 are centrally open or perforated in alignment at 1 and 5 and '7 respectively, to accommodate the passage of tools necessary for the various uses to which the apparatus may be put.

The apparatus is useful in various arts and for example in orientating or positioning olives or other substantially ovoid fruits to arrange them with their longitudinal axes vertical which is advantageous in pitting the same, packing, etc. Also ovoid work pieces of metal or other material may be positioned or oriented similarly to facilitate calibration, marking and various other operations.

In operation the bodies 0 of ovoid or approximately ovoid form are supplied one at a time into the cavity 1 during rotation thereof. This rotation through contact of the receptacle also rotates the body 0 to some extent but its rotation is intercepted by contact with the wall 4 of the fixed abutment 4 whereby the body is approximately orientated, at which time the cap 5 descends on the body to complete its orientation, following which the drive shaft 16 moves the cam 9 to such a position that the carrier 7 and parts carried thereby will be elevated by spring 10 and the body 0 thus disengaged and released for removal in any suitable manner. In the orientated condition of the bodies 0 such as olives, the previously mentioned tools may slide or be moved in the openings or perforations 1, 5 and 7*, one tool being for instance a plunger to force the olive pit downwardly from the olives to a location below the cup, and another tool being for instance a plunger or means to substitute a piece of pimento into the pit cavity of the olive. It will be realized that the apparatus operates continuously and at proper speed and timing to attain the ends in view.

Various changes may be made within the spirit and, scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An orientating apparatus comprising a support, a; receptacle journalled thereon having a cavity open at its, top to receive a body to be orientated, a generally horizontal abutment on said support relatively close to and;

above the cavity for engagement with a body in said. cavity to aid its orientation, a bracket rising from said support, a drive shaft journalled in said bracket in petal-- lelism to said support, a vertical shaft journalled on said! support, means to drive the vertical shaft from the drive.- shaft, means to rotate the receptacle from the vertical: shaft relatively tothe abutment, a cap carrier mountedl by said bracket for vertical movement, a cap on said; carrier engageable with the body, a spring urging down? ward movement of the cap relatively to the carrier, a cam on the drive shaft operable to move the carrier downward ly, and a spring urging upward movement of the carrier into engagement with the cam.

2. An orientating apparatus comprising a receptacle having a cavity open at its top to loosely receive therein an end portion of anovoidobject, a generally horizontal abutment disposed relatively close to and above said top and to one side of the longitudinal axis line of said receptacle, said abutment being a single cantilever arm having an arcuate guiding surface in position for contacltby the periphery of an object while loosely retained in and partly projecting above said receptacle, and means to rotate said receptacle on its said axis relatively to the abutment so that through the corresponding rotation of the body and coaction of the abutment a body with its longitudinal axis inclined will be so orientated as to move said longitudinal axis into the vertical.

3. An orientating apparatus comprising a receptacle having a cavity open Vatits top to loosely receive therein an end portion of an ovoid object, a generally horizontal abutment plate disposed relatively close to and above said top and to one side of the longitudinal axis line of said [receptacle in position for contact by the periphery of an object while loosely retained in and partly projecting above said receptacle, said'abutment being in spaced relation to the Zoneof supportsof said end with and while disposed insaid cavity, said abutment having a free end adjacent said receptacle disposed approximately on an arc concentric with the axis of rotation of the receptacle for the said contacting, means to rotate said receptacle on its said axis relatively to the abutment so that through the corresponding rotation of the body and coaction of the abutment a body with its longitudinal axis inclined Will be so orientated as to move said longitudinal axis into the vertical, and a cap disposed ,above said abutment operable .to descend into'contact with the upper end .of the body while disposed in the said vertical position.

4. An orientating apparatus according toclaim 2 wherein said abutment has a free end adjacent said receptacle approximately disposed on an arc concentric with the axis of rotation of the receptacle for direct contact b the ovoid object. 1

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,247,602 Carroll July 1, 24

FOREIGN PATENTS 450,669 Italy July -26, 19.49 

